Artists are often accused of plagiarism. And it seems to be nothing new for Mariah Carey, whom Guinness World Records refer to as the ‘Songbird Supreme’. The singer-songwriter, 54, is reportedly involved in another legal dispute. This time, over two writers claimed that her famous 1994 Christmas hit, All I Want For Christmas Is You, is a copy of their song of the same name.
According to TMZ, Andy Stone and Troy Powers alleged that there are several similarities between Carey’s song and their song of the same name, which was allegedly recorded in 1989. For the unversed, Stone filed a $20 million solo lawsuit against Carey last year, claiming that her song was a “derivative” of his. However, in November of that same year, he filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Mariah Carey Sued for Copyright Violations over All I Want for Christmas Is You
Accusing Mariah Carey of plagiarizing their 1989 song of the same name, two writers have launched a lawsuit against the singer-songwriter. Troy Powers and Andy Stone claimed in a court document that was cited by TMZ that Carey’s song is musically and lyrically similar to their song.
Last year, Stone filed a $20 million solo lawsuit against Carey, claiming that her song was a “derivative” of his (per PEOPLE). In November of that year, the former asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed. But now he is back, teaming up with Powers, and the two of them are suing Carey together for $20 million.
They claim there are significant similarities between the two songs’ melodies and lyrical hooks, as well as the overall message they both express (via TMZ). They charge the 54-year-old singer in their court filings with having
“Palmed off these works with her incredulous origin story, as if those works were her own.”
Stone’s attorneys claimed in court documents obtained by PEOPLE that their song All I Want for Christmas Is You was played on the radio in 1993 and went on to become a hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart the following year. Even though the documents also admitted that Stone did not originate the phrase “All I want for Christmas is you”, the filing maintained that Carey copied the “compositional structure” of the 1989 song.
Moreover, The Economist formerly claimed that Carey makes $2.5 million a year from this one song since it is played so much during the holiday season.
Mariah Carey Declares ‘It is Time’ as She Defrosts for Christmas
Mariah Carey recently announced, “It’s………. TIME!!!” and shared an Instagram video of herself getting ready for the holidays, kicking off the annual countdown to Christmas on November 1st. In the video, the date and time can be seen changing from ‘October 31 11:59’ to ‘November 1 12:00’ as a vault door swings open.
Then her superhit Christmas classic All I Want for Christmas Is You started as she played in the snow and her 12-year-old twins joined her. The two had holiday attire on as well, complete with festive lights around their necks.
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The post also featured Carey’s viral video from November 1st of last year. Well, the enormously popular holiday song debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart when it was first released from Carey’s fourth studio album, Merry Christmas.
All I Want for Christmas Is You is also among the all-time best-selling digital singles, having sold 16 million copies worldwide. This year, the Library of Congress chose the song to be added to the National Recording Registry.
